Immersive musical show of 'Arcane' auditions for roles

An immersive musical show of “Arcane,” based on the “League of Legends” inspired animation series, has started auditioning for roles, officials said at the 29th Shanghai TV Festival on Wednesday.

The show is expected to debut in 2025 and offer audiences new and modern theatrical experiences, according to Cui Chao, deputy general manager of Tencent Video’s Operations Department.

With live performances of the music, the theatrical production will lead audiences into the world of Arcane.

“We also hope that the show will do well and be influential in overseas markets,” Cui said.

Since 2015, animation has become an important business and strategy of Tencent Video, Cui said. As a result, many well-received animated series such as “Soul Land” and “Perfect World” have been created.

“The animation industry in China is flourishing and the animation genre has stimulated creators’ imaginations and expanded their perspective,” Cui added.

In terms of the huge market potential in China, Tencent Video would continue to explore more possibilities for the development of original Chinese animation IPs, and incorporate into its productions new artistic concepts and innovative technologies.

Domestic animation studios also announced some of their new projects at the TV festival.

Guan Minbo, an animation filmmaker from the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, said the studio would preserve and develop the Chinese school of animation, characterized by diverse traditional art forms and styles.

More impressive Chinese stories would be told by the studio using the traditional arts of ink-wash painting, paper cutting and puppetry, Guan said.

Last year, the studio’s animated short film series "Yao-Chinese Folktales" became hugely popular with audiences. Production of a second season is underway.

The animated feature film “Nobody," based on one of the first season's most popular episodes and centring on a cute pig monster, will be released in summer of next year.

The studio is also working on the 3D animated feature film “The Mountain of Flames,” which is adapted from an episode of the Chinese literary classic “Journey to the West.”